Indictment, arrest made in Litchfield cold case

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

Just before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Margaret Litchfield, 58, the widow of Raymond “Red” Litchfield, was officially booked into the Coryell County jail for the murder of her husband. She remained held in the Coryell County jail on a $500,000 bond as of press time. Margaret Litchfield’s sealed indictment was handed up last month. For Faye Litchfield Powell and the rest of Raymond’s family, this answer has been a long time coming. “We are elated,” Powell told the Leader- Press. “A spouse is always under suspicion in many cases like this. This is something we felt needed to be investigated a long, long time ago.” On Jan. 29, 1999, Raymond Litchfield was found dead in his home on Lawson Lane with gunshot wounds from a .22-caliber weapon. There was no sign of forced entry and only thing missing from the home was Litchfield’s .22-caliber gun, which he kept beside his wallet on his nightstand. His wallet was left full of cash. Until now, no one has ever been charged with his murder. In early March 2015, Coryell County district attorney Dusty Boyd put out a call to the public to assist with identifying a man found in several photographs at the Litchfields’ home. With the help of news outlets and social media, the photographs were shared. It took approximately 24 hours for Boyd’s office to receive word that the man had been identified, and he contacted Boyd’s office and then cooperated with the Texas Rangers’ investigation. At the time, Boyd said the identification of the man in the photographs was a “big breakthrough” in the murder case. Powell said when they spoke to Boyd over a year ago about reopening her brother’s cold case, Boyd was interested in it from the moment they talked to him. She added that her family still has a long road ahead and will continue to follow the case as it unfolds. “This is a big step. We are hoping for a conviction.”